5 red flags to look for before you take fitness advice from influencers

• Having a big following doesn't mean a fitness influencer is giving out good advice.
• In fact, a recent study found 27% of fitness content on TikTok contained misinformation.
• Qualified personal trainer Liam Cavanagh shared five red flags to spot with fitness influencers.

Fitness influencers are a dime a dozen these days. The trouble is, however, that the lack of regulation on social media means anyone can give out fitness advice, and there's a lot of misinformation that has the potential to be damaging.

A recent study of fitness content on TikTok found that 27% of the videos that were analyzed demonstrated bad form or incorrect advice, with kettlebell swings coming out top as the exercise most often performed wrong (80% of the time). But if you're not an expert yourself, you likely wouldn't know.

Just because someone has a vast following and is a pro at posing in their leggings doesn't mean they're actually in a position to be giving out advice, as qualified personal trainer Liam Cavanagh explained to Insider.

Cavanagh is the founder of Bel, a new website that matches people looking for online fitness coaches with qualified personal trainers that will help them reach their specific goals, all of whom are fully vetted and verified.

The Londoner came up with the idea for Bel through frustration at how many unqualified influencers are advising others on how to train and eat, often profiting from it too.

"So many people search for an online coach on Instagram, but what you're shown is based on who you follow, what accounts you interact with, and who follows you, not which of those coaches have actual relevant experience," he said. "You're never not going to take into account how many followers someone has and how many likes they get on their profile, neither of which are metrics for good online coaching."

Cavanagh cites the example of people who go on reality TV shows and grow huge followings as a result, and then start selling fitness programs despite not having any qualifications or coaching experience. Similarly, lots of excellent personal trainers have relatively modest social media followings.

There are certainly plenty of thoroughly qualified fitness professionals on social media who can be trusted, but before you next take advice from your favorite fitness influencer, look out for the following red flags.

1. Shallow rather than educational content

Any personal trainer that genuinely cares about helping others and spreading good information won't have an Instagram feed dominated by photos that do little more than show off their body.

Cavanagh suggests looking at the content a fitness influencer is putting out and asking: "Does it seem educational and something you could learn from, or is it more vanity-focused and them just sharing highlights of their life?"

2. Posting mainly product promotion

There's nothing necessarily wrong with sponsored content and paid promotions on social media - after all, full-time influencers have to pay their bills too - but it's worth looking at both how much product promotion an influencer does, and what type of products they're promoting. "Skinny detox tea" can be a red flag in itself.

If an influencer's feed is dominated by them saying, "You should buy this product, I've got a promo code for it, which I am commissioned from," it's also a red flag, Cavanagh said. "Look out for people who just promote products instead of actually giving fitness-related advice."

3. A lack of qualifications and experience

Not being qualified is a "big issue," according to Cavanagh. Just because someone hasn't listed any qualifications in their bio doesn't mean they don't have them. If you're not sure, Cavanagh recommends reaching out to ask and notes that there's a "relatively low barrier to entry" to become a personal trainer, so ask for experience too.

And don't be fooled by wording - anyone can call themselves a "coach," but often that doesn't really mean anything.

4. A 'my way or the high way' approach

Any good trainer knows that health and fitness is not one-size-fits-all. So if an influencer insists that everyone has to do exactly what they do because it worked for them, it's a red flag. "There are loads of different ways of achieving a certain goal," Cavanagh said. "A coach's role should be to find the methods which work for an individual and work with them to develop that."

It's important to remember that even if you ate and worked out exactly the same as your favorite fitness influencer, you still wouldn't look like them because genetics play a huge role - and genetics are often how some influencers amass their huge followings in the first place.

5. Solely focusing on short-term transformations

"Before and after" pictures can seem very convincing, but they're actually hugely problematic and should not be a sign that a trainer knows their stuff. Firstly, they might only be sharing transformations from a small proportion of their clients who are the minority. Secondly, short-term body transformations shouldn't actually be what you're striving for - a coach should be helping you make lasting change.

Some coaches may specialize in aesthetic change and if that's your main goal, that's of course up to you. But what you really want to be looking for is a trainer who's invested in your overall health. For this reason, Cavanagh suggests seeking out testimonials from current or past clients, and don't be afraid to ask for them.

Representatives for Instagram and TikTok did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.